Results.
60 judgments found.
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| December 1988 |
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23 December 1988 |
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Plaintiff proved debt for goods sold; defendant’s incomplete-goods defence inconsistent with pleadings and rejected.
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Contract — sale of goods — whether goods sold were complete and in working condition; payment terms evidenced by invoice and delivery note; variance between pleaded defence and evidence; proof of debt on balance of probabilities.
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5 December 1988 |
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The plaintiff failed to prove the defendant unlawfully drew water from the mains; claim dismissed with costs.
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Water supply — alleged unlawful abstraction from mains — trespass to goods — burden of proof — credibility and circumstantial billing evidence — temporary connection not actionable trespass.
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5 December 1988 |
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1 December 1988 |
| November 1988 |
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Employer liable for false imprisonment and unjustified dismissal where evidence did not establish employee's guilt.
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Employment law — wrongful suspension and summary dismissal; False imprisonment — employer’s communication and delivery of employee to police; Damages for unlawful detention; Insufficiency of circumstantial evidence to prove employee theft.
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30 November 1988 |
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28 November 1988 |
| October 1988 |
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A receiver's letter lifted receivership and directors/shareholders may sue unless appointment instrument expressly strips that power.
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Company law — Receivership — Effect of receiver’s letter — Whether receivership was terminated; Locus standi — Directors/shareholders’ right to sue despite out-of-court receiver; Receiver appointed out of court — powers depend on instrument of appointment; application of M'dinde Estate precedent.
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28 October 1988 |
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Applicant withdrew petition; court awarded costs to respondent, finding ambiguity in creditor's instalment terms was creditor's fault.
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Civil procedure — withdrawal of petition — costs follow the event; Contract/creditor correspondence — ambiguity in payment terms attributable to creditor; Costs awarded to respondent.
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13 October 1988 |
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13 October 1988 |
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Applicant failed to satisfy a consent-order condition to the respondent's satisfaction; injunction dismissed as frivolous and intended to delay.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction — compliance with consent order requiring evidence "to the satisfaction" of defendant; bank statements and funding assurances; reasonableness of irrevocable bank instructions; frivolous and vexatious applications; discretion to refuse interlocutory relief.
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13 October 1988 |
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Validity of Courts Act amendment of sheriff's fees and prohibiting ordering sheriff to pay costs absent bad faith.
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Courts Act s32(2) — Courts Act (Schedule)(Replacement) Notice 1977 — Sheriffs Act ss47–48 — General Interpretation Act s21(a) (deeming of subsidiary legislation) — validity of amendment to sheriff's fees — sheriff's liability for costs under Sheriffs Act s45 (requires bad faith).
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3 October 1988 |
| September 1988 |
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Interlocutory injunction dissolved where no clear contract existed, status quo not preserved and applicant lacked clean hands.
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Civil procedure — interlocutory injunction; preservation of status quo; adequacy of damages; equitable relief and clean hands; existence of contract; appellate review of discretionary injunction.
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29 September 1988 |
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Credit sales of fuel at filling stations were illegal under conservation regulations; plaintiff recovered only depot cash-sale amounts.
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Preservation of Public Security (Conservation of Motor Fuel) Regulations — prohibition of non-cash sales at fuel stations — credit sales at filling stations illegal and not recoverable; recoverability of fuel sold/delivered at supplier depots; credibility of defendant’s evidence on waybills and payments.
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13 September 1988 |
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A company under out-of-court receivership may sue in its own name unless the debenture expressly divests that power.
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Companies law — Receivership — Out-of-court appointment of Receiver/Manager — Construction of debenture determines receiver’s powers — Right of company to sue in its own name unless debenture divests that power — Locus standi — Receiver/Manager or his solicitors not entitled to represent company if not a party.
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8 September 1988 |
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Appellant failed to prove wrongful withholding of pension funds; Liquor Act illegality and missing pension rules defeated the claim.
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Pension funds — money had and received — need for proof of receipt and authority; Liquor Act s.76(2) bars actions on debts incurred contrary to statute; non‑production of pension scheme rules fatal to claim; creditor’s right to set off admitted indebtedness against pension proceeds.
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5 September 1988 |
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Only one instruction and one brief fee are payable per action; refresher fees are at the taxing master’s discretion.
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Taxation of costs — instruction fee — brief fee — counterclaim — only one allowance per action (Order 62/A2/22, 62/A2/23) — refresher fees discretionary (Order 62/A2/50) — no two‑thirds rule.
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5 September 1988 |
| August 1988 |
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31 August 1988 |
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29 August 1988 |
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Defendant held liable to pay contract shortfall; counterclaim for construction defects dismissed.
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Contract law — construction contract — implied term of reasonable time for completion; financier deductions and project shortfall; whether contractor waived right to payment; certification of completion; counterclaim for alleged defects — failure to notify and remedial works by third party.
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26 August 1988 |
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The respondent's instalment order was set aside; the applicant entitled to sale under the Sheriff's Act for lack of formal application and special circumstances.
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Sheriff's Act (Part IV) — sections 33, 34, 35 — execution against land — power to direct inquiries into debtor's interest — sale vs instalments — requirement for formal application and evidence — stay of sale only after order for sale and claim by interested party.
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25 August 1988 |
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On the respondent's death, counsel's authority terminated and counsel cannot claim costs for post‑death work absent estate continuation.
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Civil procedure — Death of a party — Section 10(1) Statute Law (Miscellaneous) Act Cap 5:01 — Causes of action survive death except defamation; Solicitor/Counsel authority terminates on client’s death; costs not recoverable for work done post‑death unless personal representatives continue the action (Pool v Pool).
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19 August 1988 |
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Adultery may be inferred from intimate correspondence and circumstantial evidence; decree nisi and custody awarded to petitioner.
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Family law — Divorce — Adultery — Proof by circumstantial evidence and correspondence — Intimate letters and frequent absences can justify inference of adultery; decree nisi and custody awarded; costs against respondent and co-respondents.
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19 August 1988 |
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Court held appeal against Registrar's ruling timely; weekends excluded and seven-day rule for appeal to Judge in Chambers applied.
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Civil procedure — computation of time for filing appeals — exclusion of Saturdays and Sundays — appeal from Registrar to Judge in Chambers — Rule 3 High Court (Exercise of Jurisdiction of Registrar) Rules 1975 — seven-day appeal period.
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8 August 1988 |
| July 1988 |
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Identification and circumstantial evidence sustained a robbery-with-violence conviction; absence of medical report or weapon did not vitiate conviction; sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Robbery with violence — Sufficiency of identification and circumstantial evidence — Necessity of medical report or recovery of weapon — Sentencing: seriousness of assault justifying heavy custodial term.
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21 July 1988 |
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1 July 1988 |
| June 1988 |
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Bus driver's failure to slow on a wet road found negligent; plaintiff's driver also contributorily negligent; damages halved.
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Negligence — driver obliged to slow and be able to stop safely when put on guard by vehicle indicators and junction ahead; contributory negligence — failure to complete lane change; wet road conditions; presence of cyclist as contributing circumstance; apportionment of liability.
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29 June 1988 |
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21 June 1988 |
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Employer liable for brief false imprisonment and wrongful dismissal; malicious prosecution and defamation claims dismissed.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal; False imprisonment — vicarious liability for employee/agent reporting to police; Malicious prosecution — claimant must show defendant set law in motion; Defamation — statements by police not attributable to employer.
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21 June 1988 |
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Whether a 15% handling commission formed part of the tourist delivery contract and if refundable sales tax could be retained.
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Contract interpretation — tourist delivery sale — whether 15% handling/commission agreed; admissibility of oral evidence to explain a written quotation; set-off/withholding of refundable foreign sales tax; credibility findings on commercial price quotations.
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17 June 1988 |
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17 June 1988 |
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Training bond enforced; defendant must repay training expenses; UK employment/salary claim dismissed.
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Training bond enforceability — repayment of training expenses; distinction between trainee and employee under UK work permit; no employment contract with UK host; set‑off of admitted payables.
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16 June 1988 |
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Licencee’s disorderly conduct and property damage justified eviction; assault claim dismissed.
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Licences — licencee’s conduct — breach of contractual conditions by disorderly conduct and property damage; eviction — servant’s implied authority to use reasonable force to protect property; assault claim defeated where licencee became trespasser.
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16 June 1988 |
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3 June 1988 |
| May 1988 |
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Applicant's late acceptance did not form a contract when goods were sold prior; claim dismissed with costs.
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Contract law — Offer qualified by "available ex-our stock, subject to prior sales"; formation of contract for specific goods; late acceptance; credibility of contemporaneous communications; specific performance claim dismissed.
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31 May 1988 |
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Decree nisi granted for cruelty; petitioner awarded custody and respondent ordered to pay costs.
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Family law — Matrimonial causes — Cruelty as ground for divorce — Proof of repeated physical assaults and miscarriage — Undefended petition and warning against collusion — Decree nisi, custody and costs ordered.
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27 May 1988 |
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6 May 1988 |
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Court found termination (not suspension), rejected alleged voucher payment, and awarded three months’ salary in lieu of notice.
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Employment law — termination v. suspension — admissibility and weight of company documents and signatures — notice period (oral term) — damages for termination in lieu of notice.
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6 May 1988 |
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Plaintiff entitled to arrears after repossession; deposit held paid and sale proceeds credited, judgment K1,175.82.
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Hire-purchase — payment of deposit — disputed cheque evidence and ledger entries — repossession and entitlement to arrears — credit for sale proceeds.
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6 May 1988 |
| April 1988 |
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Procedural default on opposition did not mandate winding up; court ordered share sale with first option to the other shareholder.
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15 April 1988 |
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15 April 1988 |
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14 April 1988 |
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12 April 1988 |
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5 April 1988 |
| March 1988 |
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Clear admission supports judgment; alleged set-off in separate unpleaded action cannot defeat judgment on admission.
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Civil procedure — Judgment on admission — Sufficiency and clarity of admission — Set-off and counterclaim — Requirement to plead counterclaim under Order 15 — Separate actions and consolidation — Abuse of court.
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28 March 1988 |
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21 March 1988 |
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Applicant granted decree nisi for divorce on adultery inferred from respondent’s cohabitation and children; respondent ordered to pay costs.
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Matrimonial law — Divorce — Adultery — Proof by inference from cohabitation and children — Undefended petition and absence of collusion — Jurisdiction where parties domiciled in Malawi
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21 March 1988 |
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18 March 1988 |
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Whether the applicant proved the respondent's desertion; court found desertion and granted decree nisi dissolving the marriage.
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Family law — Divorce — Desertion — Proof of factum of separation and animus deserendi — Undefended petition and absence of collusion — Decree nisi granted; custody and ancillary matters adjourned — Costs awarded to petitioner.
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11 March 1988 |
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11 March 1988 |
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11 March 1988 |